The question that I had that brought me here was "Are there any long term and or side effects of a ball python having a long term RI after being Cured? MY two year old BP got an RI on Oct 15th. I have two Vets. After many trips to the Dr's I can finally say he's okay. He was prescribed Tazicef. I did not want batril prescribed. But my other Vet does prescribe Vit. B complex, but not for a cure all. More like booster. But I do know how this happened... two scenarios back to back that should not have happened, but did. And TY for the added videos. So many videos with so much information that in the end say nothing. I was happy to watch this one.
Hi Malinda! I have to say that you should seek veterinary advice first. Repeated RIs from possible mistakes probably do not have any long term effects. Everyone that keeps reptiles inevitably runs into that cold spike or thermostat failure that can cause some inconsistencies that may help to create conditions ripe for bacterial respiratory disease. I hope your little buddy is doing well. One of the points mentioned in this video is that these snakes can contract viruses that can cause respiratory disease. They do not recover from these viruses and they have them for the rest of their lives. Nidovirus (now more commonly serpentovirus) is very common in ball pythons and the symptoms include what is often described as "seasonal RI" - if you have a ball python that has repeated or lengthy respiratory infection symptoms (especially if they do not respond to antibiotic treatment and there is nothing in a culture) then it is very important to have them tested for nidovirus. It is something to be aware of and to adapt treatment to so that you are not over using antibiotics that ultimately won't help to resolve disease caused by the virus.
The issue with the last guy is that he is not a veterinarian. Some of these old guys have been breeding a long time, before there were more exotic veterinarians available, so they took it upon themselves to treat their animals. Now we have better veterinarians and what most lay people do not realize is that most antibiotics were developed for use in mammals and can actually do damage to reptiles. So this shotgun approach of treating an animal based on "experience" instead of diagnostics, is sketchy at best and truly harmful at worst. While an animal might survive, you might have also caused immense damage and while a breeder might be fine if their animal only lives another 10 years rather than 20 due to the damage done, that animal's quality of life can be diminished. With reptiles, they cannot tell you if they are in pain or don't feel good, but just ask someone with bad kidneys if it affects their life? Potentially damaging an animal's quality of life isn't worth saving a few bucks by avoiding the veterinarian that can do specific diagnostics and prescribe only the specific medication needed that does the least amount of harm. Also, medical science is constantly evolving so there are always new things learned in veterinary science as well.
It's certainly true that people involved with animals often take it upon themselves to do certain tasks. It doesn't take much to find videos of people draining abscesses or similar "medical-ish" personal practices. Progress can be tough but we can do it! :)
I work in vet med and I can say yes diagnostics are important but Kevin’s approach has been backed by vets he works closely with. Reptile treatment has not advanced very far at all and most treatments are exactly the same as they were decades ago. Treating reptiles is difficult and only experienced people should attempt treating at home. Regardless of having a veterinarians supervision or not fatalities and internal damage happen because we don’t have the information and medications to treat reptiles with high success and minimal damage.
How's it going mate!
I just came across this video of yours and I like the topic very much.
I'm going to watch the rest of this playlist.
The question that I had that brought me here was "Are there any long term and or side effects of a ball python having a long term RI after being Cured? MY two year old BP got an RI on Oct 15th. I have two Vets. After many trips to the Dr's I can finally say he's okay. He was prescribed Tazicef. I did not want batril prescribed. But my other Vet does prescribe Vit. B complex, but not for a cure all. More like booster. But I do know how this happened... two scenarios back to back that should not have happened, but did. And TY for the added videos. So many videos with so much information that in the end say nothing. I was happy to watch this one.
Hi Malinda! I have to say that you should seek veterinary advice first.
Repeated RIs from possible mistakes probably do not have any long term effects. Everyone that keeps reptiles inevitably runs into that cold spike or thermostat failure that can cause some inconsistencies that may help to create conditions ripe for bacterial respiratory disease. I hope your little buddy is doing well.
One of the points mentioned in this video is that these snakes can contract viruses that can cause respiratory disease. They do not recover from these viruses and they have them for the rest of their lives. Nidovirus (now more commonly serpentovirus) is very common in ball pythons and the symptoms include what is often described as "seasonal RI" - if you have a ball python that has repeated or lengthy respiratory infection symptoms (especially if they do not respond to antibiotic treatment and there is nothing in a culture) then it is very important to have them tested for nidovirus. It is something to be aware of and to adapt treatment to so that you are not over using antibiotics that ultimately won't help to resolve disease caused by the virus.
Well done, sir. 😁👍🏼
Really amazing vid, I love the "subtle" roasting for the UVB cures-all vid 🙄 can't wait to see what comes next!
I vote yes on a video diving into Nidovirus
You got it! It's in the schedule. :)
The issue with the last guy is that he is not a veterinarian. Some of these old guys have been breeding a long time, before there were more exotic veterinarians available, so they took it upon themselves to treat their animals. Now we have better veterinarians and what most lay people do not realize is that most antibiotics were developed for use in mammals and can actually do damage to reptiles. So this shotgun approach of treating an animal based on "experience" instead of diagnostics, is sketchy at best and truly harmful at worst. While an animal might survive, you might have also caused immense damage and while a breeder might be fine if their animal only lives another 10 years rather than 20 due to the damage done, that animal's quality of life can be diminished. With reptiles, they cannot tell you if they are in pain or don't feel good, but just ask someone with bad kidneys if it affects their life? Potentially damaging an animal's quality of life isn't worth saving a few bucks by avoiding the veterinarian that can do specific diagnostics and prescribe only the specific medication needed that does the least amount of harm. Also, medical science is constantly evolving so there are always new things learned in veterinary science as well.
It's certainly true that people involved with animals often take it upon themselves to do certain tasks. It doesn't take much to find videos of people draining abscesses or similar "medical-ish" personal practices. Progress can be tough but we can do it! :)
I work in vet med and I can say yes diagnostics are important but Kevin’s approach has been backed by vets he works closely with. Reptile treatment has not advanced very far at all and most treatments are exactly the same as they were decades ago. Treating reptiles is difficult and only experienced people should attempt treating at home. Regardless of having a veterinarians supervision or not fatalities and internal damage happen because we don’t have the information and medications to treat reptiles with high success and minimal damage.
Thank you!
Thanks for watching! What do you think? What steps were taken when (if?) you've had to take an animal to the veterinarian for illness?